Last week, I pushed back on Senator Tom Coburn’s attacks on federally-funded science grants, explaining that if his staff had taken the opportunity to speak with the researchers in question that he might have a better understanding of the importance of the research he was making fun of. The researchers were eager to talk to me, and I quoted a couple of them in a blog post. In the time since, others have spoken out to explain how the senator’s “Wastebook” was off the mark. Read More

It’s as predictable as a curse word in a Bob Saget comedy routine. Periodically, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn puts out a review of the government projects that he and his staff have designated as wasteful government spending. And each time, his list includes a number of research grants that he thinks are preposterous. Silly. Emblematic of a Washington that is severely out of touch with the American people. In these reports, science becomes a laugh line. Read More

Yesterday, a mile-wide tornado that spent forty minutes on the ground ripped through Moore, Oklahoma. As of this writing, 51 people are dead (including twenty children) and more than 140 are injured (SEE UPDATE, BELOW). Almost immediately, this country began coming together to grieve and support the affected as it does during national tragedies. While it is clear that we have a long way to go in terms of tornado forecasting, investments in science and technology over the past three decades have significantly increased our understanding of these storms and our ability to minimize casualties. Read More

The Scientific Integrity Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists was started because it was just too easy for federal decision makers to use science as a screen to hide policies based on ideology and the influence of special interests. Manipulated and suppressed scientific information and censored scientists removed the barriers to justify the policies they wanted to put forward. Read More